biography
Born in New York City on June 11, 1914, Gerald Mohr's well-to-do family afforded him a prep school education. Following graduation, Mohr enrolled as a pre-med student at
Columbia University and worked for the school newspaper. He fell into a radio career when a broadcaster heard Mohr's rich, deep voice, and he soon found work as a radio reporter.
His radio career blossomed as broadcasting flourished in the mid 1930s, and Mohr became bitten by the acting bug. He was hired by Orson Welles as a actor with Welles' Mercury Theater Group. Success
in radio plays led Mohr to the Broadway stage, but he still paid the bills with his prolific radio work, doing voice work on such radio series as The Lone Ranger,
The Adventures of Phillip Marlowe, Johnny Dollar, and The Lone Wolf. Mohr relocated to Los Angeles in the late 1930s for more radio and film opportunities.
In 1939, Mohr began taking small roles in films, often doing voice work or appearing uncredited in such movies as Society Smugglers (1939; with Preston Foster)
and Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941; with Tom Tyler). His first credited role came in the low-budget horror film The Monster and the Girl
(1941; with Ellen Drew). Service during World War II interrupted his acting career, but after the end of the war, Mohr resumed his career, signing with Columbia in 1946
to portray Michael Lanyard in Columbia's series of mystery short "B" features The Lone Wolf, beginning with The Notorious Lone Wolf (1946; with Janis Carter).In the 1950s, Mohr made his mark in several horror films, including Invasion U.S.A. (1952; with Peggie Castle), Terror in the Haunted House (1958; with Cathy O'Donnell), and The Angry Red Planet (1959; with Nora Hayden and Les Tremayne). He also acted in a number of crime dramas, including Guns Girls and Gangsters (1959; with Mamie Van Doren and Lee Van Cleef) and Date with Death (1959; with Liz Renay and Robert Clarke). In the early 1950s, Mohr began working in television, taking a role on NBC's Foreign Intrigue (1951-1955) during its final season and serving as a narrator for numerous films and television projects. Whereas radio had often been a significant source of income for him early in his career, in the 1950s and 1960s television provided the basis of Mohr's acting career; he acted in such popular programs as Perry Mason, Maverick, and The Man from U.N.C.L.E.. |
the films of gerald mohrThe Notorious Lone Wolf (1946)
With Eric Blore and Janis Carter in The Notorious Lone Wolf, Mohr's first film in the Lone Wolf seriesUndercover Girl (1950)   
Images from Undercover Girl. LEFT: Great noir shot of Gerald Mohr. CENTER A and B: With Regis Toomey. RIGHT: With Scott Brady and Alexis SmithThe Duel at Silver Creek (1952)
From The Duel at Silver Creek, which also stars Faith Domergue and Susan CabotInvasion USA (1952) 
With Peggie Castle in Invasion USA, an effective "Red Scare" thriller made on a shoestring budget. Portions of the film are comprised of stock footageConflict (1956-1957 TV series)
With Allison Hayes on an episode of ConflictTerror in the Haunted House (1958)
With Cathy O'Donnell and Barry Bernard in Terror in the Haunted House, filmed in 'Psychorama'The Angry Red Planet (1959) 
With Nora Hayden, Jack Kruschen, and Les Tremayne in two scenes from The Angry Red PlanetA Date With Death (1959)  
Lobby cards from A Date With Death, another 'Psychorama' film. LEFT: With Harry Lauter. CENTER: Mohr fools the cops into thinking he's a detective. RIGHT: Mohr manhandles Liz RenayGuns, Girls, and Gangsters (1959)later yearsBy 1957, Mohr's marriage to his first wife, the mother of his only child, had eroded, and the couple suffered a nasty divorce. He remarried the following year to script supervisor Mai Dietrich (later Santacroce). Mohr appeared in just a few films in the 1960s but worked steadily in television, taking guest roles on numerous programs including Hawaiian Eye, Surfside 6, Perry Mason, and The Man From U.N.C.L.E.. In 1967, he did voice work for two superhero cartoon series produced by Hanna-Barbera and Filmation and snagged his final film role in Funny Girl (1968). Just weeks after the film's debut, Mohr went to Sweden to produce and star in a television series. But sadly, he was felled by a fatal heart attack in Sweden on November 9, 1968, at the age of 54. Mohr was survived by his second wife, Mai Santacroce (1920-1980), and son Anthony from his first marriage. |
filmographyFILMS
|
gerald mohr trailers now showinggerald mohr television appearancesgerald mohr film now showing |
Click on the logo to go back to Brian's Drive-In Theater
This page premiered December 13, 2002.
Copyright and Disclaimer Information